Context based document analysis

ABSTRACT

A method, computer program product, and computer system for identifying, by a computing device, content in a document, wherein the content includes a language expression. A context of the language expression is determined from a defined range of the content in the document. An action item associated with the language expression is generated based upon, at least in part, the context of the language expression.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The subject application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication with Ser. No. 15/285,575, filed on Oct. 5, 2018, which is acontinuation application of U.S. Pat. No. 9,535,900, Issue Date Jan. 3,2017 with Ser. No. 13/780,550, filed on Feb. 28, 2013, the entirecontent of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Unstructured and/or semi-structured messages (e.g., emails, instantmessages, SMS, documents, etc.) may include implicit or explicit callsto action (e.g., requests for information). For example, an email sentto a receiving user by a sending user may be lengthy and include one ormore questions, such as, “what do we have to bring to the meeting onFriday?”. With the increasing numbers and types of messages, users maybecome overwhelmed, causing them not to read everything in each messagecarefully, or at all.

For example, users may resort to skimming, hoping to glean sufficientinformation about the content of the message without reading the wholemessage in depth. This may result in lost information, missedresponsibility, and incomplete work, which may lead to errors, failures,and social embarrassment.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

In one implementation, a method, performed by one or more computingdevices, comprises identifying, by a computing device, content in adocument, wherein the content includes a language expression. A contextof the language expression is determined from a defined range of thecontent in the document. An action item associated with the languageexpression is generated based upon, at least in part, the context of thelanguage expression.

One or more of the following features may be included. The range of thecontent from which to determine the context of the language expressionmay be redefined. The action item may be modified based upon, at leastin part, a new context of the language expression determined from theredefined range of the content. The defined range may include at least aportion of the content that is outside of the language expression. Theaction item, when executed, may include information from the content inthe document. The action item, when executed, may include informationfrom material referenced by the content in the document. The definedrange of the content in the document may be annotated.

In another implementation, a computing system includes a processor and amemory configured to perform operations comprising identifying contentin a document, wherein the content includes a language expression. Acontext of the language expression is determined from a defined range ofthe content in the document. An action item associated with the languageexpression is generated based upon, at least in part, the context of thelanguage expression.

One or more of the following features may be included. The range of thecontent from which to determine the context of the language expressionmay be redefined. The action item may be modified based upon, at leastin part, a new context of the language expression determined from theredefined range of the content. The defined range may include at least aportion of the content that is outside of the language expression. Theaction item, when executed, may include information from the content inthe document. The action item, when executed, may include informationfrom material referenced by the content in the document. The definedrange of the content in the document may be annotated.

In another implementation, a computer program product resides on acomputer readable storage medium that has a plurality of instructionsstored on it. When executed by a processor, the instructions cause theprocessor to perform operations comprising identifying content in adocument, wherein the content includes a language expression. A contextof the language expression is determined from a defined range of thecontent in the document. An action item associated with the languageexpression is generated based upon, at least in part, the context of thelanguage expression.

One or more of the following features may be included. The range of thecontent from which to determine the context of the language expressionmay be redefined. The action item may be modified based upon, at leastin part, a new context of the language expression determined from theredefined range of the content. The defined range may include at least aportion of the content that is outside of the language expression. Theaction item, when executed, may include information from the content inthe document. The action item, when executed, may include informationfrom material referenced by the content in the document. The definedrange of the content in the document may be annotated.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of an analysis processcoupled to a distributed computing network according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a client electronic device of FIG. 1according to one or more implementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative flowchart of the analysis process of FIG. 1according to one or more implementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the analysis process of FIG. 1 according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the analysis process of FIG. 1 according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the analysis process of FIG. 1 according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the analysis process of FIG. 1 according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the analysis process of FIG. 1 according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the analysis process of FIG. 1 according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

System Overview:

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present disclosuremay be embodied as a method, system, or computer program product.Accordingly, the present disclosure may take the form of an entirelyhardware implementation, an entirely software implementation (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an implementationcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program producton a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program codeembodied in the medium.

Any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer-usable, orcomputer-readable, storage medium (including a storage device associatedwith a computing device or client electronic device) may be, forexample, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (anon-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium may include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a media such as thosesupporting the internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device.Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even bea suitable medium upon which the program is stored, scanned, compiled,interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary,and then stored in a computer memory. In the context of this document, acomputer-usable or computer-readable, storage medium may be any tangiblemedium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connectionwith the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Thecomputer readable program code may be transmitted using any appropriatemedium, including but not limited to the internet, wireline, opticalfiber cable, RF, etc. A computer readable signal medium may be anycomputer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage mediumand that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use byor in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentdisclosure may be written in an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java °, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. Java and all Java-basedtrademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracleand/or its affiliates. However, the computer program code for carryingout operations of the present disclosure may also be written inconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language, PASCAL, or similar programming languages, as wellas in scripting languages such as Javascript or PERL. The program codemay execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof apparatus (systems), methods and computer program products accordingto various implementations of the present disclosure. It will beunderstood that each block in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, andcombinations of blocks in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, mayrepresent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one ormore executable computer program instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s)/act(s). These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the computerprogram instructions, which may execute via the processor of thecomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create theability to implement one or more of the functions/acts specified in theflowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks or combinations thereof.It should be noted that, in some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the block(s) may occur out of the order noted in thefigures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, beexecuted substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks or combinations thereof.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed (not necessarily in a particularorder) on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce acomputer implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps forimplementing the functions/acts (not necessarily in a particular order)specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks orcombinations thereof.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown analysis process 10 that may resideon and may be executed by a computer (e.g., computer 12), which may beconnected to a network (e.g., network 14) (e.g., the internet or a localarea network). Examples of computer 12 (and/or one or more of the clientelectronic devices noted below) may include, but are not limited to, apersonal computer(s), a laptop computer(s), mobile computing device(s),a server computer, a series of server computers, a mainframecomputer(s), or a computing cloud(s). Computer 12 may execute anoperating system, for example, but not limited to, Microsoft® Windows®;Mac® OS X®; Red Hat® Linux®, or a custom operating system. (Microsoftand Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in theUnited States, other countries or both; Mac and OS X are registeredtrademarks of Apple Inc. in the United States, other countries or both;Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat Corporation in the UnitedStates, other countries or both; and Linux is a registered trademark ofLinus Torvalds in the United States, other countries or both).

As will be discussed below in greater detail, analysis process 10 mayidentify, by a computing device, content in a document, wherein thecontent may include a language expression. A context of the languageexpression may be determined from a defined range of the content in thedocument. An action item associated with the language expression may begenerated based upon, at least in part, the context of the languageexpression.

The instruction sets and subroutines of analysis process 10, which maybe stored on storage device 16 coupled to computer 12, may be executedby one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memoryarchitectures (not shown) included within computer 12. Storage device 16may include but is not limited to: a hard disk drive; a flash drive, atape drive; an optical drive; a RAID array; a random access memory(RAM); and a read-only memory (ROM).

Network 14 may be connected to one or more secondary networks (e.g.,network 18), examples of which may include but are not limited to: alocal area network; a wide area network; or an intranet, for example.

Computer 12 may include a data store, such as a database (e.g.,relational database, object-oriented database, etc.) and may be locatedwithin any suitable memory location, such as storage device 16 coupledto computer 12. Any data described throughout may be stored in the datastore. In some implementations, computer 12 may utilize a databasemanagement system such as, but not limited to, “My Structured QueryLanguage” (MySQL®) in order to provide multi-user access to one or moredatabases, such as the above noted relational database. The data storemay also be a custom database, such as, for example, a flat filedatabase or an XML database. Any other form(s) of a data storagestructure and/or organization may also be used. Analysis process 10 maybe a component of the data store, a stand alone application thatinterfaces with the above noted data store and/or an applet/applicationthat is accessed via client applications 22, 24, 26, 28. The above noteddata store may be, in whole or in part, distributed in a cloud computingtopology. In this way, computer 12 and storage device 16 may refer tomultiple devices, which may also be distributed throughout the network.

Computer 12 may execute a communication application (e.g., communicationapplication 20), examples of which may include, but are not limited to,e.g., an email application, an instant messaging application, a textmessaging application, a word processing application, or otherapplication that allows for the creation and/or transmission ofdocuments (e.g., emails, instant messages, SMS, collaborativedocuments). Analysis process 10 and/or communication application 20 maybe accessed via client applications 22, 24, 26, 28. Analysis process 10may be a stand alone application, or may be an applet/application/scriptthat may interact with and/or be executed within communicationapplication 20 and/or one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28.Communication application 20 may be a stand alone application, or may bean applet/application/script that may interact with and/or be executedwithin analysis process 10 and/or one or more of client applications 22,24, 26, 28. One or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be astand alone application, or may be an applet/application/script that mayinteract with and/or be executed within analysis process 10 and/orcommunication application 20. Examples of client applications 22, 24,26, 28 may include, but are not limited to, e.g., an email application,an instant messaging application, a text messaging application, a wordprocessing application, or other application that allows for thecreation and/or transmission of documents, a standard and/or mobile webbrowser, an email client application, a textual and/or a graphical userinterface, a customized web browser, a plugin, or a custom application.The instruction sets and subroutines of client applications 22, 24, 26,28, which may be stored on storage devices 30, 32, 34, 36 coupled toclient electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44, may be executed by one or moreprocessors (not shown) and one or more memory architectures (not shown)incorporated into client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44.

Storage devices 30, 32, 34, 36 may include but are not limited to: harddisk drives; flash drives, tape drives; optical drives; RAID arrays;random access memories (RAM); and read-only memories (ROM). Examples ofclient electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44 (and/or computer 12) mayinclude, but are not limited to, a personal computer (e.g., clientelectronic device 38), a laptop computer (e.g., client electronic device40), a smart phone (e.g., client electronic device 42), a notebookcomputer (e.g., client electronic device 44), a tablet (not shown), aserver (not shown), a data-enabled, cellular telephone (not shown), atelevision (not shown), a smart television (not shown), a media (e.g.,video, photo, etc.) capturing device (not shown), and a dedicatednetwork device (not shown). Client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44 mayeach execute an operating system, examples of which may include but arenot limited to, Android™, Apple® iOS®, Mac® OS X®; Red Hat® Linux®, or acustom operating system.

One or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be configured toeffectuate some or all of the functionality of analysis process 10 (andvice versa). Accordingly, analysis process 10 may be a purelyserver-side application, a purely client-side application, or a hybridserver-side/client-side application that is cooperatively executed byone or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 and/or analysisprocess 10.

One or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be configured toeffectuate some or all of the functionality of communication application20 (and vice versa). Accordingly, communication application 20 may be apurely server-side application, a purely client-side application, or ahybrid server-side/client-side application that is cooperativelyexecuted by one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 and/orcommunication application 20. As one or more of client applications 22,24, 26, 28, analysis process 10, and communication application 20, takensingly or in any combination, may effectuate some or all of the samefunctionality, any description of effectuating such functionality viaone or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28, analysis process 10,communication application 20, or combination thereof, and any describedinteraction(s) between one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26,28, analysis process 10, communication application 20, or combinationthereof to effectuate such functionality, should be taken as an exampleonly and not to limit the scope of the disclosure.

Users 46, 48, 50, 52 may access computer 12 and analysis process 10(e.g., using one or more of client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44)directly through network 14 or through secondary network 18. Further,computer 12 may be connected to network 14 through secondary network 18,as illustrated with phantom link line 54. Analysis process 10 mayinclude one or more user interfaces, such as browsers and textual orgraphical user interfaces, through which users 46, 48, 50, 52 may accessanalysis process 10.

The various client electronic devices may be directly or indirectlycoupled to network 14 (or network 18). For example, client electronicdevice 38 is shown directly coupled to network 14 via a hardwirednetwork connection. Further, client electronic device 44 is showndirectly coupled to network 18 via a hardwired network connection.Client electronic device 40 is shown wirelessly coupled to network 14via wireless communication channel 56 established between clientelectronic device 40 and wireless access point (i.e., WAP) 58, which isshown directly coupled to network 14. WAP 58 may be, for example, anIEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth™ device that iscapable of establishing wireless communication channel 56 between clientelectronic device 40 and WAP 58. Client electronic device 42 is shownwirelessly coupled to network 14 via wireless communication channel 60established between client electronic device 42 and cellularnetwork/bridge 62, which is shown directly coupled to network 14.

Some or all of the IEEE 802.11x specifications may use Ethernet protocoland carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (i.e.,CSMA/CA) for path sharing. The various 802.11x specifications may usephase-shift keying (i.e., PSK) modulation or complementary code keying(i.e., CCK) modulation, for example. Bluetooth™ is a telecommunicationsindustry specification that allows, e.g., mobile phones, computers,smart phones, and other electronic devices to be interconnected using ashort-range wireless connection.

Referring also to FIG. 2, there is shown a diagrammatic view of clientelectronic device 38. While client electronic device 38 is shown in thisfigure, this is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to bea limitation of this disclosure, as other configurations are possible.For example, any computing device capable of executing, in whole or inpart, analysis process 10 may be substituted for client electronicdevice 38 within FIG. 2, examples of which may include but are notlimited to computer 12 and/or client electronic devices 40, 42, 44.

Client electronic device 38 may include a processor and/ormicroprocessor (e.g., microprocessor 200) configured to, e.g., processdata and execute the above-noted code/instruction sets and subroutines.Microprocessor 200 may be coupled via a storage adaptor (not shown) tothe above-noted storage device. An I/O controller (e.g., I/O controller202) may be configured to couple microprocessor 200 with variousdevices, such as keyboard 206, pointing/selecting device (e.g., mouse208), custom device (e.g., device 215), USB ports (not shown), andprinter ports (not shown). A display adaptor (e.g., display adaptor 210)may be configured to couple display 212 (e.g., CRT or LCD monitor(s))with microprocessor 200, while network controller/adaptor 214 (e.g., anEthernet adaptor) may be configured to couple microprocessor 200 to theabove-noted network 14 (e.g., the Internet or a local area network).

In some implementations, analysis process 10 may use, e.g., patternmatching techniques to detect, e.g., telephone numbers, zip codes, emailaddresses, URLs, etc. that may be included in, e.g., an email. However,such pattern matching techniques may not include the appropriatecontext, which may result in inaccurate identification of what the“pattern” actually is. For example, a pattern matching technique may beused to identify a text pattern of “617-555-1234” in an email, which mayidentify the pattern as a phone number. However, when more context ofthe email is added to the analysis, analysis process 10 may determinethat pattern of “617-555-1234” is not a phone number. For instance, theemail may include the phrase, “When will the TPS report for accountnumber 617-555-1234 be ready for my review?” In the example, analysisprocess 10 may determine that the pattern of “617-555-1234” is theaccount number associated with a particular TPS report, rather than aphone number.

As discussed above and referring also to FIGS. 3-9, analysis process 10may identify 300, by a computing device, content in a document, whereinthe content may include a language expression. Analysis process 10 maydetermine 302 a context of the language expression from a defined rangeof the content in the document. An action item associated with thelanguage expression may be generated 304 by analysis process 10 basedupon, at least in part, the context of the language expression.

For instance, and referring at least to FIG. 4, assume for examplepurposes only that a first user (e.g., user 48) drafts a document (e.g.,email) to a second user (e.g., user 46). User 46 may receive and view onclient electronic device 38 the email sent by user 48 (e.g., viaanalysis process 10, communication application 20, client application26, or combination thereof). For example, analysis process 10,communication application 20, client application 26, or combinationthereof, may be associated with user interface 400, which may enableuser 46 to view the email (e.g., email 402) via client electronic device38.

In some implementations, and continuing with the above example, analysisprocess 10 may identify 300, by a computing device (e.g., clientelectronic device 38), content in a document, wherein the content mayinclude a language expression. In the example, the document is email402, however, the document may be any type of document (e.g., instantmessage, text message, SMS messages, collaborative document, socialsoftware board post, meeting minutes, web page, etc.) without departingfrom the scope of the disclosure. The content of email 402 may includeany portion of email 402, including but not limited to From portion 404,To portion 406, Subject portion 408, and body portion 410.

In the example, the language expression may include but is not limitedto a question (e.g., “User 46, will the TPS report be ready for myreview by this Thursday?”). Other examples of language expressions, suchas statements, may also be used without departing from the scope of thedisclosure. Analysis process 10 may identify 300 the language expressionin the content of email 402 using known techniques such as, e.g., thoseused in grammar checking applications, as well as other techniques.

In some implementations, analysis process 10 may determine 302 a contextof the language expression from a defined range of the content in thedocument. For example, and referring at least to FIG. 5, the definedrange (e.g., range 500) of the content in email 402 may include some orall of the sentence between brackets 502 a and 502 b (e.g., “User 46,will the TPS report be ready for my review by this Thursday?”). Fromrange 500, analysis process 10 may determine the context of the questionincludes user 48 asking user 46 whether the TPS report will be ready foruser 48 to review by Thursday.

In some implementations, the defined range of the content in thedocument may be annotated 306 by analysis process 10. For example, thedefined range (e.g., range 500) of the content in email 402 that mayinclude some or all of the sentence between brackets 502 a and 502 b maybe highlighted, bolded, italicized, changed font size/color, as well asother annotations.

In some implementations, an action item associated with the languageexpression may be generated 304 by analysis process 10 based upon, atleast in part, the context of the language expression. For example, andreferring at least to FIG. 6, analysis process 10 may render an icon orother object (e.g., object 600) in the email or elsewhere. Object 600may include, for example, a dropdown menu, hotlinks, etc. In theexample, object 600 may be rendered at the end of the sentence thatincludes the above-noted language expression. User 46 may, e.g., viaanalysis process 10, select object 600 with, e.g., curser 602. In theexample, and referring now at least to FIG. 7, selecting object 600 mayresult in a dropdown menu (e.g., dropdown menu 700) being rendered byanalysis process 10, which may include one or more action itemsassociated with the language expression and the context.

For instance, the action items generated 304 based upon, at least inpart, the context of the language expression, may include but are notlimited to Reply to Email, New Email, New Task, New Meeting, Chat, etc.In the example, user 46 selecting Reply to Email action item may causeanalysis process 10 to execute the Reply to Email action item andgenerate a Reply email (e.g., to user 48). As another example, user 46selecting New Email action item may cause analysis process 10 to executethe New Email action item and generate a new email (e.g., to user 48).As another example, user 46 selecting New Task action item may causeanalysis process 10 to execute the New Task action item and generate anew task. For instance, client application 26 may include, e.g., acalendaring function with the ability to create a task in a to-do listthat may include the delegated task of user 46 responding to thequestion of user 48, sending a draft of the TPS report to user 48, aswell as other tasks determined based upon, at least in part, the contextof the language expression. The task may be associated with a due dateof Thursday derived from the context of, e.g., the language expressionor other content. As another example, user 46 selecting New Meetingaction item may cause analysis process 10 to execute the New Meetingaction item and generate a new meeting request. For instance, clientapplication 26 may include a calendaring function with the ability tocreate a meeting request between user 46 and user 48, where the subjectof the meeting may include a discussion of the TPS report, as well asother subjects associated with the context. As another example, user 46selecting Chat action item may cause analysis process 10 to execute theChat action item and generate a chat session or chat request. Forinstance, client application 26 may include an online collaboration orchat function with the ability to create the chat session or requestwith user 46 and user 48 (and/or other referenced users from thecontext), where the subject of the chat may include a discussion of theTPS report, as well as other subjects associated with the context.

In some implementations, the action item, when executed, may includeinformation from material referenced by the content in the document. Forinstance, assume for example purposes only that user 46 selects Reply toEmail action item that causes analysis process 10 to execute the Replyto Email action item and generate a reply email (e.g., to user 48 orother referenced users). In the example, analysis process 10 maydetermine, e.g., from the content of range 500, the context of thequestion includes user 48 asking user 46 whether the TPS report will beready for user 48 to review by Thursday. Based upon, at least in part,the context of the question from the content of range 500 (e.g., user 48asking user 46 whether the TPS report will be ready for user 48 toreview by Thursday), analysis process 10 may generate a reply email fromuser 46 to user 48, which may include one or more excerpts from thereferenced TPS report (assuming enough context is available in thecontent of range 500 for analysis process 10 to determine which TPSreport is being referenced). In some implementations, the excerpts maybe suggested by analysis process 10, e.g., in object 600, based upon, atleast in part, the above-noted context. For example, if the content ofrange 500 included a discussion of a particular paragraph number of theTPS report, or a reference to a particular portion of the TPS report(e.g., “beginning of the second sentence of the TPS report”), thatportion of the TPS report may be suggested by analysis process 10 to beincluded in the reply email.

In some implementations, the defined range may include at least aportion of the content that is outside of the language expression. Forexample, analysis process 10 may determine 302 the context the languageexpression based upon, at least in part a defined range that includesvarious other portions of email 402. For instance, the content of email402 that includes “ . . . remember that you must include Jane Smith onany communication involving the TPS report . . . ” may not be part ofthe above-noted language expression in the example, but may still beused by analysis process 10 to determine 302 the context of the languageexpression. In the above-example where user 46 selects the Reply toEmail action item, analysis process 10 may thus generate a reply emailto user 48 from user 46 which may include Jane Smith as a recipient,even if Jane Smith was not originally listed in the prior email.Analysis process 10 may search for the email address of Jane Smith inany previously stored contact information accessible by analysis process10, previously received emails from Jane Smith, the internet, as well asother locations.

Similarly, the action item, when executed, may include information fromthe content in the document. Information from the content in thedocument (e.g., email) may include, for example, references to otherpeople. For example, continuing with the above example noting thecontent of email 402 includes the phrase “ . . . remember that you mustinclude Jane Smith on any communication involving the TPS report . . .”, when user 46 selects the Reply to Email action item, analysis process10 may thus generate a reply email to user 48 from user 46 which mayinclude Jane Smith as a recipient, even if Jane Smith was not originallylisted in the prior email. Other examples of information from thecontent in the document may include but are not limited to therecipients of the email, the sender of the email, references tocompanies, project names, concepts, data formats, time references, etc.As another example, a Reply to Email action item may cause analysisprocess 10 to generate a reply email to user 48 from user 46 where,e.g., the subject of the reply email includes at least a portion of thelanguage expression (e.g., “User 46, will the TPS report be ready for myreview by this Thursday?”).

In some implementations, the range of the content from which todetermine the context of the language expression may be redefined 308 byanalysis process 10. For example, and referring at least to FIG. 8, userinterface 400 (e.g., via analysis process 10), may enable user 46 toredefine 308 the range of the content from which to determine thecontext of the language expression. For instance, user 46 may use curser602 to “left click” and drag curser 602 across portions of the contentto be selected, and, therefore, to be included in the new range. In someimplementations, user interface 400 (e.g., via analysis process 10), mayenable user 46 to “right click” on the selected portions of the contentincluded in the new range, which may cause analysis process 10 togenerate 304 object 600 or window 700 with one or more action items. Insome implementations, user interface 400 (e.g., via analysis process10), may enable user 46 to redefine 308 the range of the content fromwhich to determine the context of the language expression by usingcurser 602 to reposition brackets (e.g., brackets 502 a and 502 b),where the content within brackets 502 a and 502 b denote the range. Insome implementations, user interface 400 (e.g., via analysis process10), may enable user 46 to define the range of the content from which todetermine the context of the language expression before and/or afteranalysis process 10 define the range of the content. As such, the term“redefine” may but need not denote a prior defined range of the contentfrom which to determine the context of the language expression.

In some implementations, the action item may be modified 310 by analysisprocess 10 based upon, at least in part, a new context of the languageexpression determined from the redefined range of the content. Forexample, and referring at least to FIG. 9, selecting object 600 mayresult in a dropdown menu (e.g., dropdown menu 900) being rendered byanalysis process 10, which may include one or more action itemsassociated with the language expression and the context. In the example,and referring also at least to FIG. 7, assume that the range of thecontent from which to determine the context of the language expressiononly includes the content in email 402 between brackets 502 a and 502 b(e.g., “User 46, will the TPS report be ready for my review by thisThursday?”). From that range, analysis process 10 may determine thecontext of the question includes user 48 asking user 46 whether the TPSreport will be ready for user 48 to review by Thursday and may generate304 an action item that may include Open TPS Report. However, furtherassume that the range of the content from which to determine the contextof the language expression has been redefined 308 to now include thecontent in email 402 between brackets 502 a and 502 b shown in FIG. 8.(e.g., “I am writing this email because the TPS report for the Donovanaccount is due this Friday. User 46, will the TPS report be ready for myreview by this Thursday?”). In the example, from the redefined range,analysis process 10 may (e.g., using semantic analysis to correlate TPSreport specifically with the Donovan account) determine the context ofthe question includes user 48 asking user 46 whether the TPS report forthe Donovan account will be ready for user 48 to review by Thursday andmay generate 304 an action item (e.g., via dropdown menu 900) that mayinclude Open TPS Report For Donovan account. In some implementations,analysis process 10 may generate a reply email from user 46 to user 48,which may include a copy of the TPS report for the Donovan account(e.g., as an attachment or link to where the TPS report may be locatedthat when selected may retrieve and/or open the TPS report). That is, byredefining 308 the range of the content from which to determine thecontext of the language expression, more or less contextual informationmay be gleaned from the content from which to generate 304 or redefineone or more of the action items. In some implementations, one or more ofthe action items may be executed automatically by analysis process 10.For example, analysis process 10 may automatically include a copy of theTPS report for the Donovan account in a reply email.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularimplementations only and is not intended to be limiting of thedisclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps (notnecessarily in a particular order), operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps (not necessarily in a particular order),operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications,variations, and any combinations thereof will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe disclosure. The implementation(s) were chosen and described in orderto best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practicalapplication, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand the disclosure for various implementation(s) with variousmodifications and/or any combinations of implementation(s) as are suitedto the particular use contemplated.

Having thus described the disclosure of the present application indetail and by reference to implementation(s) thereof, it will beapparent that modifications, variations, and any combinations ofimplementation(s) (including any modifications, variations, andcombinations thereof) are possible without departing from the scope ofthe disclosure defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:identifying, by a computing device, content in a document, wherein thecontent includes a language expression; determining a context of thelanguage expression from a defined range of the content in the document;providing a selectable object in a graphical user interface associatedwith the document; and generating an action item in response to a userselection of the selectable object, the action item associated with thelanguage expression based upon, at least in part, the context of thelanguage expression, wherein the action item generates a reply emailautomatically, at least one recipient of the reply email includinganother user referenced in the document, wherein the another user wasnot an original recipient of the document.
 2. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1 further comprising redefining the range of the contentfrom which to determine the context of the language expression.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 2 further comprising modifying theaction item based upon, at least in part, a new context of the languageexpression determined from the redefined range of the content.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the defined rangeincludes at least a portion of the content that is outside of thelanguage expression.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1wherein the action item, when executed, includes information from thecontent in the document.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1wherein the action item, when executed, includes information frommaterial referenced by the content in the document.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising annotating thedefined range of the content in the document.
 8. A computing systemincluding a processor and a memory configured to perform operationscomprising: identifying, by a computing device, content in a document,wherein the content includes a language expression; determining acontext of the language expression from a defined range of the contentin the document; providing a selectable object in a graphical userinterface associated with the document; and generating an action item inresponse to a user selection of the selectable object, the action itemassociated with the language expression based upon, at least in part,the context of the language expression, wherein the action itemgenerates a reply email automatically, at least one recipient of thereply email including another user referenced in the document, whereinthe another user was not an original recipient of the document.
 9. Thecomputing system of claim 8 further comprising redefining the range ofthe content from which to determine the context of the languageexpression.
 10. The computing system of claim 9 further comprisingmodifying the action item based upon, at least in part, a new context ofthe language expression determined from the redefined range of thecontent.
 11. The computing system of claim 8 wherein the defined rangeincludes at least a portion of the content that is outside of thelanguage expression.
 12. The computing system of claim 8 wherein theaction item, when executed, includes information from the content in thedocument.
 13. The computing system of claim 8 wherein the action item,when executed, includes information from material referenced by thecontent in the document.
 14. The computing system of claim 8 furthercomprising annotating the defined range of the content in the document.15. A computer program product residing on a computer readable storagedevice having a plurality of instructions stored thereon which, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform operationscomprising: identifying, by a computing device, content in a document,wherein the content includes a language expression; determining acontext of the language expression from a defined range of the contentin the document; providing a selectable object in a graphical userinterface associated with the document; and generating an action item inresponse to a user selection of the selectable object, the action itemassociated with the language expression based upon, at least in part,the context of the language expression, wherein the action itemgenerates a reply email automatically, at least one recipient of thereply email including another user referenced in the document, whereinthe another user was not an original recipient of the document.
 16. Thecomputer program product of claim 15 further comprising redefining therange of the content from which to determine the context of the languageexpression.
 17. The computer program product of claim 16 furthercomprising modifying the action item based upon, at least in part, a newcontext of the language expression determined from the redefined rangeof the content.
 18. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein thedefined range includes at least a portion of the content that is outsideof the language expression.
 19. The computer program product of claim 15wherein the action item, when executed, includes information from thecontent in the document.
 20. The computer program product of claim 15wherein the action item, when executed, includes information frommaterial referenced by the content in the document.
 21. The computerprogram product of claim 15 further comprising annotating the definedrange of the content in the document.